Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail To UAPA Accused To Take Care Of Their Old Parents

The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to two UAPA convicts for one month to take care of their parents.

Hafiz Abdul Majeed and Arun Kumar Jain and some others were convicted for  offence under Section 18, 18B and 20 of the  Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and were awarded punishment of life imprisonment. The High Court, upheld the conviction and modified the sentence to 14 years rigorous imprisonment. The case against the accused was that they allegedly stored the ammunition and Indian fake currency, and also tried to make a team for terrorist training in Pakistan.

Before the Apex Court, by filing interim applications in pending Special Leave Petitions, the accused [Hafiz Abdul Majeed] submitted that his father is 85 years and mother is 80 years old. The other accused [Arun Kumar Jain] submitted that his father is 85 years old and permanently blind and he is in last stage of his life and that his mother is 75 years old and suffering from ailment. They requested the court to grant interim bail for at least for a short period to go to take care of their parents. Both of them have already served ten years in jail.

Though the state opposed the plea, the bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and MR Shah ordered their release on interim bail for a period of one month. The following conditions have been imposed:

(1) Applicants after release shall only proceed to their respective residences where their parents are residing and shall remain during the entire period at the same place and shall not go anywhere else. (2) On every third day the applicants shall mark their attendance before the nearest police station, after their release. (3) The applicants shall surrender next day after the expiry of 30 days.

The court also directed to list the petitions for hearing at the end of January, 2021.

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